Tag Archives: operations

Tampa, Florida USA - September 2, 2022: Grand opening of Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant.

Former Chick-fil-A Service Insider Shares the Secret Sauce to Guest Experience

Emotions, Perceptions, Feelings, , ,

Chick-fil-A has always been clever. The cows alone proved that. But the reason people keep coming back isn’t the advertising. It’s the fact that the experience usually matches the promise. Orders are right. The operation feels controlled. The basics hold up, day after day, across locations. That consistency is the part most businesses misunderstand when they talk about guest experience, according to Scott Wozniak, a former insider who spent years studying how loyalty is actually built. Wozniak h...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Engaging Service at the Eatery, Clients Enjoying Conversations while Waitstaff Attend, Cafe Scene Filled with Delicious Food and Beverages, Where Lifestyle Meets Business in Comfortable Dining.

Steps of Service for an Exceptional Restaurant Experience

Best and Worst Practices, ,

Which is less bothersome: a waiter who constantly interrupts the meal, or one who’s hardly present at all? Ideally, guests should encounter neither. In dining, timing and order of service play a major role in how guests experience a meal. When service flows well, it stays out of the way. When it doesn’t, even attentive service can feel disruptive. Food and beverage also represents a significant opportunity for hotels that invest in on-site bars and restaurants, making service execution more than...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Two businesswomen walking and discussing in a modern hotel lobby, collaborating and smiling during a professional meeting.

Top Leadership Qualities in a Turbulent Economy

Leadership,

Management style may not be one-size-fits-all, but having the right mindset is crucial for success. There’s no debate on the impact of a great manager. At the store level, an individual manager accounts for as much as 35% of the variation in productivity, as reported by the Chicago Booth Review. When examining workers in technology-based service jobs, Stanford Business reports that replacing a poor-performing boss with a high-performing boss increased productivity by 12%. It can be hard, however...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Tips, receipt and croissant on wooden table, closeup.

National Restaurant Association: Lack of Pennies Could Cause ‘Chaos at the Point of Sale’

Industry News,

The United States minted its last penny on Nov. 12. Meanwhile, restauranteurs and entities that still handle a decent amount of cash transactions could see “chaos at the point of sale” as the coin’s use decreases. In the restaurant industry, which completes more than $1 trillion in sales annually, “many restaurant operators are rounding down” in lieu of exact change, according to the National Restaurant Association. But using this approach for an extended period of time could cost restauranteurs...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Angry guest discussing with managers while complaining about the bill after a hotel stay.

Hotels Rethink Tech Stacks as Service Delays Frustrate Guests

Guest Experience News, , ,

It’s not always the front desk’s fault when a check-in line stalls or a room request gets lost in the system. More often, the problem sits behind the monitor buried in the technology that runs the property. Hotels are discovering that the very systems meant to streamline operations are sometimes the ones slowing them down. A recent report from NYU’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, conducted with Stayntouch and IDeaS Revenue Solutions, backs that up with data. The 2026 Hotel Technology O...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Fairmont Washington D.C. located at 2401 M St NW Washington, DC 20037

What’s the Buzz: Fairmont Washington DC Builds a Sustainable Guest Experience

Insights,

The Fairmont Washington DC has been a hub of activity for sustainability efforts for more than a decade, and it's building a reputation among guests who choose their stays based on the hotel's environmental practices. The 413-room luxury Fairmont Washington DC sits in the heart of the nation's capital, just one mile from the White House in the city's historic Georgetown neighborhood. The property, which initially opened in 1985 as a Westin, has hosted many notable people, including Muhammad Ali,...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

A hotel or travel agency representative is talking with a senior tourist couple offering various tourist services.

Inside the System That Keeps Hotels and Travel Agencies Connected

Insights, ,

Most guests never see the machinery behind a smooth hotel stay. A travel advisor keys a preferred rate into a global distribution system, the booking hits the hotel with the correct codes, and the traveler arrives to find what was promised. That invisible handoff – clean rate, correct amenity, on-time commission – is where ABC Global Services operates every day. Even as AI streamlines routine tasks, travelers still value human help for meaningful decisions and the business travel market riding a...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

An elderly couple in casual travel attire stands in a hotel lobby, shaking hands with a friendly staff member, as they check in with their luggage beside them, ready to begin their stay

Hotel Best Practices for Accommodating Older Travelers

Best and Worst Practices,

Seniors in the United States travel, comprising a significant percentage of the citizens who fly around this country and stay in hotels. There’s nothing wrong with being especially careful to accommodate older people who have the health, strength, and financial means to do so and travel around the United States at their leisure. Given the risks to their bodies and circumstances, given their age and the movement required for cross-country travel, it's probably smart to do so. Researchers have und...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

A young couple enjoy themselves in a wellness center. The young people are in a pool at a spa relaxing with pressurized water. Concept of couples between 20 and 30 years old in a spa.

Wellness or Just Well-Marketed? What Hotels are Getting Wrong

Insights, ,

There’s a Peloton in the gym, kombucha on tap in the lobby, and a guided breathwork session on the in-room TV. The wellness amenities are plentiful, but somehow, guests still don’t feel rested. The hospitality industry has enthusiastically adopted wellness, allocating significant budget to branding. But as “wellness” becomes a buzzword applied to everything from bedding to breakfast bars, some guests are pushing back. The rise of performative wellness has exposed a disconnect between what hotels...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Two businesswomen gather in the office lobby to talk about their business plans.

How Hospitality Teams Are Creating In-House Career Pipelines Without Corporate Backing

Leadership, , ,

In the hospitality industry, the phrase “we promote from within” has long been used as a feel-good tagline. However, for many independent operators, it has become a survival strategy. With fewer qualified applicants, persistent turnover, and limited support from outside training organizations, hotels and restaurants are getting creative, designing their career pipelines from the ground up. From line cooks becoming managers to housekeepers stepping into front desk roles, operators are building sy...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login